Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Two advocacy groups pushing to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania want the program run by a state board with "unilateral" power to make changes and improvements without legislative approval.
The Campaign4Compassion and the Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society included the request in a list of recommendations made to the group of state House members working to write a medical marijuana bill that will pass the legislature and be signed by the governor, possibly before summer recess.
It addresses a key question lawmakers must answer in devising a bill: Who will be in charge of medical marijuana?
SB 3, which passed 40-7 in the Senate in May, calls for a new 12-member board that would include assorted existing state officials such as the secretary of health and the physician general, as well as representatives of the public and the medical profession.
But HB 1432, recently introduced in the House, would put medical marijuana under the control of the state board of drug and alcohol programs. Its author, state Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Lower Paxton Township, says Republican House members are unwilling to expand government with a new board.
Latrisha Bentch, a member of Campaign4Compassion, says having an independent board will be essential at times such as when new marijuana-derived medications are developed, and the list of approved medical conditions must be expanded. It's too exhausting for patients to have to wage an effort to persuade legislators in every instance, she says.
She favors the kind of oversight called for in SB 3.
Bentch has a young child with severe seizures which can't be controlled with available medications, and believes a marijuana-derived oil is a breakthrough treatment. She and other families of children with such seizures have been a driving force in persuading Pennsylvania lawmakers to support medical marijuana.
Her group says "it will be important for the board to have unilateral control so that amendments, changes, and appeals can be processed in a timely fashion."
The two advocacy groups also have asked the working group to include medical conditions including: cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, neurodegenerative diseases, post traumatic stress disorder, inflammatory bowel diseases, traumatic brain injury, severe autoimmune disorders, multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma, terminal illness, severe neurobehavioral issues, and chronic and intractable pain.
The House working group, which has met this week, was created by House leadership and tasked with devising a bill that can quickly pass the legislature and move to the desk of Gov. Tom Wolf, who has said he will sign it.
The 10-member group includes several midstate lawmakers: Marsico, Rep. Mike Regan, R-Dillsburg, Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Lower Allen Township and Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana in Pa.: groups want independent oversight, 'broad' list of medical conditions | PennLive.com
Author: David Wenner
Contact: dwenner@pennlive.com
Photo Credit: David Wenner, PennLive
Website: Central PA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - PennLive.com
The Campaign4Compassion and the Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society included the request in a list of recommendations made to the group of state House members working to write a medical marijuana bill that will pass the legislature and be signed by the governor, possibly before summer recess.
It addresses a key question lawmakers must answer in devising a bill: Who will be in charge of medical marijuana?
SB 3, which passed 40-7 in the Senate in May, calls for a new 12-member board that would include assorted existing state officials such as the secretary of health and the physician general, as well as representatives of the public and the medical profession.
But HB 1432, recently introduced in the House, would put medical marijuana under the control of the state board of drug and alcohol programs. Its author, state Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Lower Paxton Township, says Republican House members are unwilling to expand government with a new board.
Latrisha Bentch, a member of Campaign4Compassion, says having an independent board will be essential at times such as when new marijuana-derived medications are developed, and the list of approved medical conditions must be expanded. It's too exhausting for patients to have to wage an effort to persuade legislators in every instance, she says.
She favors the kind of oversight called for in SB 3.
Bentch has a young child with severe seizures which can't be controlled with available medications, and believes a marijuana-derived oil is a breakthrough treatment. She and other families of children with such seizures have been a driving force in persuading Pennsylvania lawmakers to support medical marijuana.
Her group says "it will be important for the board to have unilateral control so that amendments, changes, and appeals can be processed in a timely fashion."
The two advocacy groups also have asked the working group to include medical conditions including: cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, neurodegenerative diseases, post traumatic stress disorder, inflammatory bowel diseases, traumatic brain injury, severe autoimmune disorders, multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma, terminal illness, severe neurobehavioral issues, and chronic and intractable pain.
The House working group, which has met this week, was created by House leadership and tasked with devising a bill that can quickly pass the legislature and move to the desk of Gov. Tom Wolf, who has said he will sign it.
The 10-member group includes several midstate lawmakers: Marsico, Rep. Mike Regan, R-Dillsburg, Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Lower Allen Township and Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana in Pa.: groups want independent oversight, 'broad' list of medical conditions | PennLive.com
Author: David Wenner
Contact: dwenner@pennlive.com
Photo Credit: David Wenner, PennLive
Website: Central PA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - PennLive.com
